


Ephemeral Life

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 03:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8128576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: My take on what could have happened, had Pearl been only a little slower.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been thinking about a certain outcome for On the Run occurring for actual months now. As such, I just now sat down, and wrote this on an alternate ending for the episode. Far too late, but I digress. Do enjoy.

The tendrils of Amethyst’s whip wrapped themselves around Pearl, quite clearly inflamed by the worst thing Pearl could have possibly said. With a rough tug, they flung her across the musty Kindergarten, slamming her into the leg of a towering metal injector back-first. Pearl emitted a startled gasp on all fours, rising far too slowly for the current predicament. Positively roaring with anger, Amethyst shouted to Pearl, swinging yet another strike at her all the while.

“Admit it. I’m just an embarrassment to you!”

Pearl rolled out of the way deftly, and just in time. The whip sliced through the metal of the injector device’s leg, compressed light cleaving through the metal as if it were water. The tendrils of the whip arced back toward their wielder in the process, already primed for another strike. Rushing over to the attacker, Steven pled with the purple gem. 

“Amethyst!”

Cutting him off, she angrily picked Steven up, and tossed the child across the battlefield, out of harm’s way, and too simply too far to intervene effectively. In the meantime, Pearl drew her elegant spear from her gem in a flash of light, preparing for conflict. She attempted to diffuse the conflict, just once.

“I don’t want to fight you!”

Narrowing her eyes, Amethyst shut Pearl down almost immediately.

“ _I wouldn’t want to fight me neither._ ”

Rolling up into a ball, Amethyst spun across the length of the chasm in an attempt to reach Pearl. Leaping over Amethyst, Pearl slid over to Amethyst’s side on her knees, pointing her spear at her rolling friend. In quick succession, the tall gem fired six bolts of shining light at Amethyst. Each erupted upon striking the earth, Amethyst swerving to dodge them all. 

Just before careening into the final bolt, Amethyst launched herself into the air, spinning into an overhead strike. Her whip cracked through the sky, only to miss Pearl by fractions of a second. Trapping the ends of the weapon with her foot, Pearl slashed the whip in two with one sweeping strike. Rushing forward from his recovery, Steven desperately attempted to end the deadly duel. 

“You guys! Stop it!”

Amethyst swiftly spun around, and spun the remnants of her whip at the part-human with true aim, entangling and trapping him entirely. She uttered a final warning.

“Stay _out of it._ ”

Taking the opportunity, Pearl surged forward, slashing at Amethyst. Rolling out of the way, the shorter gem of the two drew another whip from the stone upon her chest, and lashed out at Pearl thrice in a row. Each time, Pearl merely dodged the strike acrobatically, taking an opening at the end of the third to kick Amethyst directly in the face to the flow of her fluid dodges.

The force of the blow lifted Amethyst off of her feet as she dropped her weapon in surprise. Quickly recovering in midair, she slid across the earth of the dark canyon on all fours. Pearl pointed her spear directly at her opponent, warning her.

“Amethyst, stop this. You can’t beat me.”

Such an act only served to further enrage the purple gem. Roaring with anger, Amethyst drew dual whips from her gem.

“I… _DON’T… CARE!_ ”

Desperately, she promptly lashed out at Pearl. Failing to recover from the surprise in time, Pearl’s spear was ripped out of her hands by one of the whips, as the other wrapped itself around her. Amethyst dragged her opponent into the air, trapped, screaming a final phrase at her.

“I’m not gonna let you stand there and remind me of everything I hate about myself!”

She flicked the end of her whip before a restrained Pearl could once more crash into the ground, and violet flame raced across the edge. It reached Pearl, and the sky erupted into violaceous fire. Amethyst’s whips were torn out her hand by the force of the explosion, grains of stone and dust showering down over all. 

When the thick stuff cleared, naught but glossy pale splinters lay scattered beneath an injector.

Silence reigned over the former battleground like an all-encompassing miasma. The rage slowly bled out of Amethyst, replaced with a heavy lump in her throat. Amethyst called Pearl’s name into the direction of the blasts, unbelieving of what was right before her very eyes.

Predictably, there was no response.

Horror banged at the back of Amethyst’s consciousness, her initial anger long forgotten. She felt as if she might collapse, retch, and cry, all at once. She fell to her knees with a soft thump, numb and lost. A voice yelled across the chasm of the Kindergarten as a panting figure finally reached the battleground once more.

“Amethyst!? What happened!? Where’s…”

Steven caught sight of the scene lain out before Amethyst. He said nothing whatsoever for several seconds. The pangs of horror, sorrow, and regret throbbed even more swiftly within Amethyst. Without another word, Steven broke down, hot tears licking their way down his cheeks. Sobs emanated across the desolate graveyard of birth.

Yet, Amethyst was utterly still, kneeling before the scene of disaster she had created. The thoughts in Amethyst’s head rang with one voice, in unison.

_This was all her fault._

Finally, the walls of silence collapsed around the purple gem. Sobbing beside her, Amethyst curled in on herself, lachrymal self-disgust and remorse leaking from her eyes.

The only word one could have discerned from the wretched scene was that of the single gem left standing; an endless string of ever more-frantic nos.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for nothing, save for the quality of the work itself.


End file.
